Piaget Vs Vygotsky

Name:  Michelle Montague-Baker

Course: Edu. 40

Prof:      Dr. D Savoy.

Ass:        Write a response to the article “Development Perspective- Piaget Vs Vygotsky” posted by Relic hunter on Blogger.

I believe that Piaget’s and Vygotsky’s approaches are like the two sides of the same coin (The coin, being cognitive / intellectual development in children). Both approaches are similar in that they suggest that children learn and acquire knowledge through their experiences. Piaget categories what children should learn in stages (Sensory Motor 0-2yrs, Preoperational 2-7yrs, Concrete Operational7-11yrs, Formal Operational 11+yrs). While, Vygotsky suggest a way to teach children as they go through these stage with his theory of Zone of Proximal Development.  The Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) according to the article is learning characterized by the difference between what the child can do without assistance and the potential development of what the child do with assistance.

Research and observation has shown that children learn in different ways at different stages in their life. Children may build/expanding on what they have learned directly through the ZPD teaching or through observation, modeling and trial and error.  The suggestion by both theorists is that children learn the basic or elementary skills and concepts in a scaffolding way then build on it to develop more complex thoughts and knowledge.   This would mean the teacher needs to know what stage of development the children in her class are at and what skills and concept to developed next; then helping them to maximize learning at each level.

 In today classroom with its diverse population of students and differentiation instruction; teachers need to have a teaching perspective.  Whether it be behavioral, development, cognitive or a combination of the perspectives it is important to meet the child at the stage of cognitive development he/she is at.  After pondering on the article I wondered how can I as teacher use Piaget’s and Vygotsky approaches in my diverse classroom. This mean I would have to plan and give consideration for children who may be at the same level but not speak the same language or are from different socio economical and cultural backgrounds.  Children with disabilities (Global Developmental Delayed, Deaf and Autistic) would be taught alongside their advance peers who would aid those learning new skills and concepts faster.

I believe both Piaget and Vygotsky perspective hold merit in the teaching /learning process.  They suggest when to teach what and how to teach. Teachers can use these as foundation knowledge to plan and carry out their lesson from the preschool to the college level.  The teacher now is responsible for deciding on and using a method/strategy that will impact all her students. Also learning is a lifelong process and both perspective hold true as the individual continues to gain new knowledge and skills through his/her experiences and interaction with the environment.